Abstract

As one typical form of play, play center activities are commonly used in early childhood education programs in China. This study used the Activities Sub-scale of the Chinese Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (CECERS) to measure the quality of the play center activities in K2 (4-5 years old) classroom, which based on a stratified random selection of 48 classrooms in Guangdong Province in China. Results found that the overall quality of play center activities was slightly below qualified (5 points), and there are significant differences between urban and rural, private and public, high and low level of kindergartens. Quality of three dimensions (material and space, opportunity and time, design and organization) also showed a medium level (above 4 points), and significant differences of three dimensions are found between urban and rural, private and public, high and low level of kindergartens. Findings and implications will help teachers to better support and enhance children’s play center activities and early learning.

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